The Stacks
Materials Driven Design
Materials driven design is a design methodology that utilizes knowledge of a material and its processing characteristics to influence the design of a product. This methodology not only supports the …
Material Profile: Pyrus™
MC 1200401 / Pyrus™ from Symmetry Wood This is a wood alternative made from upcycled kombucha collected as waste material from the kombucha brewing industry. This bio-composite consists of 95% …
Our Top 10 MDD Examples
In this month's Seminar, Dr. Andrew Dent shares his favorite examples of Materials Driven Design (MDD) and discusses the impact materials have on the products we make. …
Miniscape: The Evolution of Bicycle Frame Design
In this month’s Miniscape we are looking at how the bike frame has evolved. The frame is the basic structure of a bicycle. Typically, it has a rhombus shape and consists of two triangles to …
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Top Five Materials: April 2022
MC 827301 / FILAVA from Isomatex S.A. This is an alternative to carbon and glass fibers made from the surprisingly abundant volcanic rock, basalt. The chemistry of these fibers is uniquely stable, in …
Material Profile: Eco Banana Packaging
MC 1141201 / Eco Banana Packaging Eco Banana Packaging by an African organization PRA is made from low cost, abundantly available banana production waste. The company turns banana stems into …
Interactive Packaging Technology: Transforming the Ordinary with Smart Connected Packaging
Dr. Andrew Dent is in conversation with Raghav Narsalay and Anita Etrati of Accenture to discuss smart, connected packaging. Read the article from the research by Sef Tuma, Raghav Narsalay, …
Packaging Converter
Converters are companies that modify or combine raw materials. Conversion is typically seen as an intermediate stage between raw materials production, such as polymerizing a plastic resin and …
Our Material World: Innovations, Circularity, and the Future of Stuff
Material selection for our products, transportation, and spaces has never been more important - but what are our options? As we move toward more circular design, we need to know which materials …
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What is lightweighting in packaging?
For this Ask an Expert, we thought we'd focus on lightweighting in packaging. A lot of people are asking us "What's the interest in lightweighting and packaging, and what are some ways we can achieve …
Plastics Recycling in the US: Quality, Availability, and Future Prospects
While the widely recognized recycling icon ♻ is found on everything - quarts of motor oil to colorful children's toys, and drink bottles to single use utensils - it's become almost invisible. …
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Oceanworks: Responsible Plastic Solutions for a Long-lasting Impact
Plastics make up 80% of all marine debris found - from what's floating on the surface to deep sea sediments - at least 40 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean every year. By 2050, there is …
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Cold Chain
Chemically and structurally, all materials have their limits when it comes to temperature. When a plastic is heated up enough, it melts. When a sandwich is frozen and then thawed, it loses some of its …
Is molded fiber packaging really environmentally friendly?
In this month’s Ask an Expert we're looking into molded fiber packaging with the questions: Is molded fiber packaging really environmentally friendly? Recently, we’ve seen a rise in molded …
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Eye On: E-commerce Packaging
The exponential growth in the e-commerce market and the constant evolution of customer expectations in today's digital world has increased the pressure on brand owners to stand out while considering …
